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Booming Pleasanton is good news for Realtors

Original post made
on Aug 2, 2013

In her recent report to a Tri-Valley Realtors group, Pleasanton's Economic Development Director Pamela Ott said the city weathered the recent economic downturn without layoffs and operating cutbacks and is now emerging at a fast clip with strong business growth, a residential building boom not seen here in years and new municipal projects. All this bodes well for the city's real estate market, where home prices and sales are climbing once again as Pleasanton keeps its top position as an appealing place for sellers, buyers and the Realtors who serve them.

"They are able to do this through their monopolistic-like market practices, including the MLS, biased selling processes and trade organizations spewing propaganda that consumers actually believe."

The "cartel" or "monopoly" isn't what it used to be. They no longer have tight exclusive control of the MLS, which is why you can browse MLS listings on the Internet now. As for the standard 6% commission that, too, is now flexible and negotiable. Companies like Redfin.com (who we used) give back a portion of their commission to the buyer as a rebate. I believe that they have a discounted commission program for sellers of houses, too.

Posted by Sell it yourself
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Aug 13, 2013 at 10:41 am

Or negotiate a fair deal, not necessarily a commission.
In this market you will have lots of buyers, and likely many bids over your price. With or without the MLS. Just use Craigslist, a sign, and/or the newspaper- remember them?
Hire a real estate agent by the job or by the hour with a cap, or use an attorney - the money you save will be your own!

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